Electronic devices which exchange information are, on a basic level, an opportunity for social interaction. People in different locales may connect with one another through the use of electronic devices. As one example, it is common for people at different locations to watch a television program or a sporting event while talking on the telephone. The television program acts as the backdrop for the people to interact. As another example, people interact and share information with one another in online social environments, such as instant messaging, short message service (SMS), chat rooms, and bulletin boards.
Technologies have attempted to enhance the social interaction aspect. For example, some digital video recorders allow users to view a common program in different locations. The program may be a movie or a television program which is controlled by the users. Similarly, technologies allow remote users to share a voice connection between the remote users. However, these additional features have their drawbacks. The shared control of the media makes viewing difficult due to contextless control changes in the media programming. With regard to the shared voice connection, it is disconcerting for a person to hear a multitude of disembodied voices from several remote players. As another example, some set-top boxes have collaboration features such as voting or video conferencing. However, video conferencing is not an ideal solution when sharing media because a video conferencing image would take up valuable screen real estate and detract from the shared media.
Online social environments have also attempted to enhance the social interaction aspect using collaborative applications such as text talk, sharing files and video conferencing. However, these applications are image and expression poor, limiting participants in how they can personalize and express their online persona.
What is needed is a richer information experience that provides better social interaction when using electronic devices.